Do you know someone who loves to cook or wants to learn? There’s no such thing as too many spoons. You can use a wood burner to transform cheap spoons into beautiful art things that might just be too pretty to use. That’s nothing a little inspiration can’t fix. Encourage them to use their new tools by making a spice mix or two. Whether you’re crafting for a seasoned cook or a novice, chances are they would enjoy a new flavor in their armory. We’ve got five spice mixtures that can be easily incorporated into a snack or a full-blown feast.

Inspiration

Spoons

You will need:A Woodburning Pen Wood or bamboo spoons or other cooking utensilsAn extra spoon – To practice on the same kind of wood you’ll be using

1. Sketch out some ideas. Keep it simple; a woodburner can be kind of unwieldy. Don’t forget that you’ve got the whole spoon (including the tiny little tip at the end of the handle) to work with. You might want to stay away from the actual spoon if you’re worried about food being hard to wash out or you might not. It’s your call. Go for lines, animals, words, swirlies, or whatever you’re best at doodling.

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2. Practice your plans on the extra spoon.

3. Take a deep breath, you’re ready for the main event. You can either draw on the spoon with a pencil to give yourself some guidance or dive right in.

Spice Mixtures

European and Latin American spices are typically easy to find in any grocery store. For spices that aren’t used as often in those cuisines, stay far away from places like Whole Foods – you’ll find them there, but they’ll cost you a fortune. Instead, head to a Middle Eastern (for sumac) or Indian (for turmeric, cumin, coriander, fennel, mango, black salt, and ajwain) grocery store. Indian store especially tend to sell large bags for much more affordable prices, which is great if you’re making a spice mix for more than one person. They’re also usually fresher because the typical customers at a cuisine-specific grocery are more likely to buy foods that would sit for ages at a generic grocery. Not to mention: you’re supporting a member of your community by shopping at a local store.

Making presents for people makes the world a better place. If you’ve got a little extra time and want to use your very own hands to show someone you love them, this is just the miniseries for you! See something you want to learn to make? Send me a picture to laura [at] autostraddle [dot] com and I’ll see what I can come up with.

Laura is a tiny girl who wishes she were a superhero. She likes talking to her grandma on the phone and making things with her hands. Strengths include an impressive knowledge of Harry Potter, the ability to apply sociology to everything under the sun, and a knack for haggling for groceries in Spanish. Weaknesses: Chick-fil-a, her triceps, girls in glasses, and the subjunctive mood. Follow the vagabond adventures of Laura and her bike on twitter [@laurrrrita].

Laura has written 329 articles for us.

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7 Comments

Hooray pyrography! I made my parents a house name sign and my friends some Christmas tree ornaments doing this and many other things now. It can be unwieldy especially cross grain, worth practising on a bit of old wood.
Another way of getting a template pattern on to trace/follow is to scan in a drawing to a computer or find a free image online,or type out a phrase in a cool font, flip it on the computer so it’s backwards, print it out on a laser printer/copy it with a photocopier and then place it image side down on the wood, iron the back with a domestic iron with the steam off and it should transfer, it may take a while and if you lift off too soon you may have to pencil in the gaps. Once it’s on you can just follow the lines :)

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